Can Ella, Ben, and Grace trust each other after the incident seventeen years ago?
Ella Jacobs
Ella Jacobs is an author and a journalist who comes back to Lighthouse Cove to get some apologies from two people that have wronged her. There is a lot to think about when they talk about what happened seventeen years ago. For Ella, the time has only kept the townspeople who once welcomed her with open arms to shun her when they see her. It takes a lot out of someone to keep from lashing out, and she did it quite well. I like Ella, but she still lets what happened to dictate her life that I don't like very much. Sure, everyone has something that they can't let go of in their past, but eventually, you need to.
Ben Winters
Ben Winters is working underneath his father back in Lighthouse Cove. He has put the past behind him and is trying to move forward despite what he knows of his own involvement in his little cousin's suicide. Ben has been working on the way to redeem himself in not only his family's eye but in the town's eye as well. He keeps his involvement buried so that he doesn't have to talk about it. I like Ben and how he wants to be with Ella. He also realizes that he needs to have closure by telling someone what he did that frightful night.
Grace Winters
Grace Winters is ultimately the cause of what happened that horrible night. Granted, she wasn't solely the only one, but she had a hand in it. Grace, for the rest of her life, has to deal with that guilt. I like that Grace is trying to make amends with what happened back then by asking Ella to Lighthouse Cove again so that she could apologize and promote Ella's book. Grace is a great character, and I like how she basically set forth trying to get her brother and best friend back together again.
Four Stars
The Christmas Promise by Janice Carter is a book about learning what truly happened that night, trusting each other, and maybe finding something more? Ms. Carter does an excellent job of writing this novel, and I loved reading it. I am giving this book four stars and recommending it to anyone that loves a good sweet holiday romance. I'm giving it four stars because I get what happened years ago can be harmful to some relationships, but I guess I would have had to think more about accepting both Grace and Ben's apologies, especially when they came so late. However, I also see the positive of letting go, forgiving, and moving on.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of The Christmas Promise by Janice Carter.
Until the next time,
Happy Reading!
This review was originally posted on Baroness' Book Trove